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Tesla Opens Driverless Cybercab Rides in Austin as U.S. Safety Agency Audits Certification

September 4, 2026 at 13:43 EDT

Robotics
Policy & Regulation

Tesla has begun offering driverless Cybercab rides in limited areas of Austin, Texas, putting a two-seat electric vehicle with no steering wheel, pedals, or conventional mirrors into the company’s Robotaxi app. After an invite-only launch on Thursday, Tesla said the gold-colored cars were available to the public, with broader hailing scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. Central Time.

Sept. 4, 2026 · Tesla

Cybercab joins the Robotaxi fleet

Tesla opened driverless two-seat Cybercab rides in limited areas of Austin. The cars have no steering wheel or pedals, and U.S. safety regulators opened a certification audit the same day.

Texas registrations

A 45-car debut inside much larger fleets

Tesla Cybercab

420

Tesla AVs (all)

988

Waymo

Each stacked block is scaled to Texas vehicle registrations (~45 per Tesla Cybercab block). Tesla’s new two-seater is a sliver of its own statewide robotaxi roster, which remains smaller than Waymo’s Texas fleet.

Passenger seats (Tesla says ~80% of robotaxi trips carry two people)

22"

Cabin touchscreen for climate, theater, music, and gaming

125k

Annual Cybercab manufacturing capacity Tesla has built

5pm

Friday CT public opening in the Robotaxi app

How a ride works

1 · Request

Set a destination in the Robotaxi app and confirm the estimated fare.

→

2 · Match

Check the lightbar color and license plate; doors open when the phone is detected.

→

3 · Start Ride

Buckle in, close doors, then tap Start Ride on the cabin screen.

→

4 · Drop-off

The car parks, flashes hazards, and doors close after the trip ends.

What riders liked

Early riders praised the cabin, the 22-inch entertainment screen, and the novelty of a purpose-built car with no driver controls.

What still constrains it

Only 45 Cybercabs are registered in Texas, riders may not get one, children under 13 are barred, and wait times have already dogged Tesla’s Model Y robotaxis.

Regulatory flashpoint

NHTSA opened audit query AQ26002 the same day

Tesla self-certified Cybercab under federal safety standards without an exemption of the kind Zoox received in July 2026. The query covers an estimated 1,000 vehicles and asks whether Tesla treated steering-wheel, pedal, and mirror rules as inapplicable.

Missing hardware

No wheel, pedals, or mirrors

Tesla’s path

Self-certify, then expand

Agency stance

Existing FMVSS still in force

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